Out Of Bounds
by CSI on Broadway
Summary: Romance in the work place has always been out of bounds for Gil Grissom, until now. Not that great with summeries, I'm sorry. Rated M for one or two scenes. This isn't beta'd so the mistakes are mine.... Please write some reviews so I can see if you li


**Authors Notes: **This is my first attempt at a fic. All the characters belong to CBS, because if I owned it 6X24 would have happened A LOT sooner . The story was supposed to be in chapter format, but I can't figure out how to do that yet...be patient ) Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

Out of Bounds

1 - Just Another Day At The Office

There were many things in life that Gil Grissom regretted in his life, both personally and professionally. " Never the twain shall meet ", was a quote that came to his mind a lot. Especially when it came to the one thing he longed to have in his life the most...a relationship. The only women he actually felt comfortable around, he worked with and he knew that he could never have a relationship with someone he worked with. It was, in his view, unethical; but in the back of his mind there was always that longing, the sense of wanting someone who shares the same passion for what they do as he does. He closed his eyes and smirked, letting out a small laugh as he thought of someone sharing his love of bugs and larva telling how long a body has been dead, not exactly the most romantic thing to talk about on a date.

" Earth to Grissom, anyone there ? " a voice said to him, tapping him on the shoulder, interrupting his train of thought. Grissom twitched and opened his eyes. " Hm? Oh sorry Catherine, I haven't been getting much sleep lately; I guess I dozed off. "

Catherine Willows looked at him and nodded " I can tell that much, I just thought I caught you day dreaming. " She laughed a little and handed him some papers. " Here, Eckli said that he wanted you to assign some work, the day shift is swamped, they're short two people and believe it or not, he's asking for help. "

Grissom raised his eye brow and tilted his head a little " The same Eckli who would be more than happy to have me fired on a daily basis ? That is a change for him, but I won't complain, " he took a look at the cases on the slips " I find these cases interesting. "

Catherine laughed softly " All right, how do you want me to divide them up? Greg is still a rookie, so I guess he can tag along with me. The guys can handle one together without too much hassle between themselves, and that leaves you and Sara to handle the last one? " The questioning tone in her voice allowed Gil to change the pairings up, possibly even take Greg with him, but she doubted he would. She had seen the hidden looks that he gave Sara every now and then. She wouldn't be the one to bring it up to Gil though, she knew where he stood when it came to dating within the department.

Gil took the last slip from Catherine's hand and headed off to find Sara, he liked working with her, she wasn't afraid of anything a crime scene could have. He also liked her on a personal level, but she was out of bounds, she was a colleague. He noticed the little things about her, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear whenever she was determined to find the answers; the way she had a bounce in her step right after cracking a case; and as far as looks went, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

2 - Assignments

Gil knocked on a locker at the end of the row, looking at Sara taking her jacket out of her locker and slipping it on, " You might not want to leave too quickly, we've got a case. "

Sara sighed softly and looked at him " And I was just going to go home for some R&R. I guess we get to pull a double. " She reluctantly put her jacket back on and walked towards Grissom. " The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can go back to my bed. I swear, I think I sleep more here then I do in my own bed. Just give me a couch and a blanket and I could fall asleep right now actually. " Sara got her evidence field kit and looked back at Gil " Coming or do I get to drive to the scene and you get to walk ? " She laughed a little and stopped, waiting for him to get his own jacket and evidence field kit. She watched him as he moved, the lines of concentration etching his face, she had to look away and pretend that she was looking for something in her phone before he noticed that she was looking at him.

" I saw that " Gil said, a small smile playing upon his lips.

Sara blinked and looked at him " Saw what ? " She went back looking in her phone, hoping that he in fact didn't notice her staring at him earlier. Ok, so she thought that he was an attractive intelligent man, but she knew that A he was her superior and B he didn't believe in relationships in the work place. Then again...everyone needs change sometime in their lives.

She couldn't believe that she was admitting this to herself but, she felt like she loved him, or at least loved being around him. " Sorry Griss, I was looking at something back there, seeing how my vision was doing, my eyes have been kind of blurry lately." She hated lying to him, but she hoped that it would be enough to sway his suspicions.

Grissom nodded " Probably from pulling too many doubles. I know I'm not one to talk, but Sara, do you ever take any days off ? " He was genuinely concerned about her, he had seen the effects of working too much, hell he had seen them in himself and he didn't want to see someone he cared about go through the same thing.

Shrugging Sara walked out of the door " Nah, busting bad guys gives me enough fuel to keep going, I sneak naps every now and then on the couch, drink coffee and I'm good to go. Thanks for your concern though " She smiled a little and brushed past him as they got to the SUV. The contact, however little it was, was enough to send a small jolt through to her nerves.

Sara Sidle was not one to open her heart and allow herself to feel love for anyone, her mother had killed her father, she had been passed around in foster care for five years. All of this had hardened her heart, but for some reason, when she was around Grissom she felt like everything would be ok and that she could be loved. But he would never see her like that, at least she thought so.

In all honesty, Gil Grissom would love to be with Sara, but it went against everything he believed in, if they ended up not remaining together it would cause a lot of problems in the lab, none of which were needed. His heart ached not being able to be with her, but in the grand scheme of things, he was sure that it would all turn out for the best.

3 - 24 HOURS LATER

Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle could not be more tired . They had been working on the same case for a solid 24 hours until the case had finally been solved, normally it wouldn't have gone so quickly, but the suspect had been clumsy and left key pieces of evidence behind. Finally back at the lab, the two sat down for the first time since they had started the case, Sara yawned and looked over at Gil who was resting in an office chair. She smiled a little when she noticed him nodding off. Slowly walking out of the lounge, she found a blanket, came back and covered him up. She'd wake him up in a few hours after she caught a nap. Laying back down on the couch, she watched him sleep until she fell asleep.

Gil roused from his sleep to find that someone had put a blanket on him, he smiled to himself and scanned the room for who might have done it. He saw Sara sleeping peacefully, got out of his chair and covered her with the same blanket someone had covered him with.

When he turned around to turn the light off and leave, he heard a voice saying " Thanks..." Sara sat up a little and looked at him, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and slid the blanket off of her. Picking the blanket up, she walked towards Gil " It was folded up when I found it, and I found it in Eckli's office, I think he would have a seizure if he found it missing or out of place. A little help?"

He nodded, took the other side of the blanket and began helping Sara fold it up. When they had met each other in the middle, Sara looked up and for an instant gazed into his eyes. She realized what she was doing and blushed deeply, lowering her head and took the blanket from Gil, taking it back to Eckli's office where it belonged. Cursing to herself she realized that even though she liked Grissom, she couldn't let him know it. Admiration from afar had to be the way it was.

Through all his experience as a CSI, nothing had left Gil Grissom as shaken as the quick gaze into Sara's eyes. He was shaken to the core. Not because someone had looked him in the eye, many had done that before, but that it was the woman he was in love with. He felt himself blush and knew that he had to regain his composure by the time Sara got back.

When Sara got back to the lounge, Gil had already gotten himself a cup of coffee, there was also another cup sitting on the main table. She sat down and looked at her coffee, looked at Gil, then back down. After five minutes of silence, she looked up at Gil, their eyes met again and she looked back down at her coffee. " When are you going to tell me how you feel. "

Gill's stomach sank to the floor " What are you talking about ? " He had always known that this moment would come, but he never knew when.

" I've known you for a long time Gil Grissom, and I can tell when you're lying. You know what I'm talking about. " Sara stood up, walked over to where Gil was standing, looked into his eyes and kissed his lips softly. " I'm talking about that. I'm talking about the feeling that is down in the pit of my stomach whenever I see you, or talk to you. " She walked away and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, " Grissom, I think I love you. " Normally Sara Sidle was one to keep her emotions in check, but now wasn't one of those times.

Swallowing hard, Gil looked at Sara, who was now on the verge of tears. " Sara...I..." he was trying to think of something to say, anything to say.

" I know, you don't want to be with anyone you work with, I've known that since day one. That's why I didn't say anything to you. But I can't keep it to myself any longer, Catherine's starting to notice when I stare at you or when you stare at me. She's actually asked me if anything is going on between us! " Sara was talking so quickly and moving her hands around so much that she didn't even see Gil walk up to her. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up and saw him in front of her.

Gil's mind was spinning, here she was, telling him that she loved him, the moment he had been waiting for for so long and he didn't know how to react. He finally collected his thoughts and looked down at Sara, he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed them gently " Am I that transparent to everyone ? " He smiled a little and breathed a small sigh, resting his chin on the top of her head.

Laughing a little, she wiped away a stray tear and looked up at Grissom " Not transparent, just obvious. " Sara nervously rested her head on Grissom's chest and closed her eyes. Waves of relief went over her and another tear ran down her cheek, this one from happiness. She picked her head up off of his chest and looked up into his eyes. Smiling she wiped away the tear and looked at Gil "Since we pulled a double, would you like to go out for breakfast or something ? " She laughed a little, looking into his eyes.

Gil nodded and swallowed hard, looking down at the woman he loved. " Breakfast would be wonderful. But I still want to know how you knew, I'm usually good at keeping everything in. "

"It's very easy Grissom, but I think I will just keep that information to myself." Sara smirked and walked towards the SUV again, but this time with the knowledge that the man she loved loved her and an empty stomach. She kept sneaking glances over at Grissom and noticed the same bounce in his step that she got whenever she was around him.

4 - Breakfast With Gil

At breakfast , Gil was eating a syrup covered pancake while Sara stuck with an omelet. She looked at him and smiled " I'm sorry about kissing you earlier, I..." she laughed a little "didn't know of any other way to explain it. "

Putting her hand that wasn't occupied by a fork on the table she shrugged, " Sometimes men just need a visual aid to help them understand the big picture. "

Gil laughed and looked at her hand laying there in front of him, then up at her face. " The kiss I did not mind at all, in fact I loved it, and as for the needing a visual aid; some men just like to play ignorant to see what the woman is thinking. " He played innocent and set his hand next to hers and continued eating his pancake. Occasionally he would run his pinkie against her thumb lightly, to see what the reaction would be. Sara would look at their hands and smile, finally setting hers atop his.

She squeezed his hand gently, then stood up and looked at him. " We better get back to the lab, the gang will start wondering where we are. " Gil wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood up, holding out his hand looking at her " Shall we ? " It was an awkward move for him, holding out his hand for someone else to hold, but today it seemed that the normally awkward would soon become the norm that he had always dreamt of.

Sara slowly put her hand in his , intertwining their fingers . " It's almost like being in high school, crushes getting together, holding hands, a very traumatic experience for both parties I'm sure. It's all very mushy, if I wasn't involved I think I might get nauseous. "

Laughing, Sara looked over at Gil as he shrugged. " I never thought holding hands in high school was traumatic, but then again I never dated in high school either. You are looking at the man who stayed single until he was 21. What about you ? What made holding hands in high school a traumatic experience? " Sara smiled a little and looked at him, she shook her head.

" It's nothing really, I was just the wild child who ran her mouth too often and got mixed up with the wrong kind of guys. When the wrong kind of guy is involved, any hand holding experience can be traumatic. Of course, you would never that by the way I act now. " Sara batted her eye lashes and put on an innocent face.

Gil grinned as he opened the drivers side door of the SUV, " Somehow I never would have imagined you as the wild child who ran her mouth too much. " He hopped in and looked over at Sara who was already seated in the passenger seat. She rolled her eyes.

On the way back to the lab, Sara looked over at Gil "You don't think that the lab suspects that anything is going on between us do you? " He shrugged and kept staring at the road. He could never tell her that he had gone to Catherine for advice on the issue at hand. He figured that she of all people would understand and be able to help him. She had told him that when the time was right for him to tell Sara how he felt he would know it by instinct. Instinct usually helped him solve criminal cases, not cases of the heart. Thankfully, it was Sara who told him how she felt first, he wasn't sure how he would have told her if she hadn't brought it up first.

5 - What Happens Now

"The question now arises of where do we go from here. Do we let our feelings come to fluition and let things happen , come what may; or do we approach it with caution? " Sara asked, resting her hand on his arm, looking into his eyes. " I will be frank with you, when am I never, I would love to spend all the time in the world with you, but it's up to you. "

Gil nodded, pulling into the parking lot of the crime lab. He put the car in park and brought a hand up to caress Sara's cheek. " I would love nothing more than to spend all of my time with you, but you might get jealous, I spend my time with other people too, I just don't enjoy it as much as I would enjoy being with you. Of course, since we work together, we will probably see the same people. We just have to be very careful about this Sara, if we have any conflict that needs resolving, we can do it after we clock out, deal? " He smiled and kissed her forehead before undoing his seat belt and opening the door.

Sara mentally was doing cartwheels, she had snagged the man of her dreams and he wanted to be with her too. Things were shaping up for her. When she got into the crime lab she was met by Catherine. " How did everything go ? " Catherine asked, walking with Sara to the main meeting room.

" I'm not quite sure what you mean Catherine, if you're referring to the case, solved in 24 hours, the only casualty was the sleep I gave up for the team. If you're talking about something else then I don't know what you're talking about. " Sara decided to play ignorant and act like nothing was going on. She didn't want to tell anyone about her and Grissom until he said it was all right. When he said that he was ok with everyone knowing, then she would tell Catherine.

Catherine shrugged and went to the ladies restroom while Sara went on ahead to the conference room. No one had gotten in there yet except for Grissom, so she felt the coast was clear. Tapping him on the shoulder, she sneaked a kiss on his cheek before turning around to go sit down in her chair. When she did turn around she saw Catherine standing in the door way, an amused look on her face. " Um..." she said flustered, " I thought you were going to the bathroom " tucking her head down and a few strands behind her ears.

" And I thought you said nothing was going on. I guess we were both wrong." She smiled and went to sit down. Looking at Grissom she smiled " Nice timing... " Sara's jaw dropped and she looked at Gil " I thought you said that you didn't want anyone to know...wait...lemme guess, you went and asked Catherine here for advice, women advice. Let me be the first to say, I'm happy you talked to him...I didn't know how long I could have gone before I completely burst inside. "

Catherine grinned and looked at the two of them " I'm glad I could be of some assistance, oh and don't worry, I won't tell the guys. I'm not sure if they could handle it. At least my advice was put to good use, I was getting slightly tired of the two of you telling me you liked the other, but not doing a damned thing about it. At least now you two are happy and I can get back to my job. Speaking of which, what cases do we get today"

Gil nodded and looked at Catherine, " All in good time Catherine, all in good time. You've got to wait until everyone else gets here before I start handing out cases. And with that, " he looked past Catherine's shoulder to see Warrick, Nick and Greg were coming in the doorway as they spoke, " here come the rest of the gentlemen. All right, you are all in luck today because remember that pay back day shift owed us for pulling a double double ? Today is the day for pay back. Day shift has taken the cases, and we all get a free day off. So go home and get some sleep, you'll need it for work tomorrow." Grissom looked at all of his team as they were just sitting there " Do you need hearing aids ? I said you can go home, surely you have lives that don't revolve around being here all the time. "

Catherine was the first to get up, " All right then, I will take this as a day to spend with Lindsey, she can miss a day of school for a good day of mother daughter bonding. Warrick, aren't you and Tina due for some alone time ? Greg and Nick, you two can go hit the bar scene or somethin. " Normally she wouldn't have told them what to do with their spare time, but she wanted to give Gil and Sara some time together. The rest of the CSI's took the hint rather well and got up and left, Greg and Nick were heard talking about old cases and hot bars to check out, Warrick on the phone with Tina making plans for a hotel room while Catherine smiled at the pair and walked out, on the way home for a well deserved day of rest and bonding.

6 - A Day Alone

Sara grinned and looked at Gil " Did day shift actually owe us a favor or do we now owe them a big one? " She could tell that Gil wouldn't tell her so she just waited for him to get his coat so they could go have a day together, figure out what the hell was going on and where they went from there.

" You're right, we owe day shift a big favor, but I believe that it was worth it. We have a big day ahead of us." Gil commented as he slipped his arm around Sara's waist. It was unfamiliar territory, but it felt natural to him. She smiled to herself as they walked towards the door, his arm slipped back down by his side, he didn't want anyone to see them together as a couple...not yet. Not until he was able to understand what was going on himself.

" So what is this big day that you have planned for us? " Sara asked while they walked out to Grissom's jeep. He simply shrugged, commenting that he had no idea, that things would just happen the way they happened. In all truth, he had no idea what was going to happen that day, he just knew that it would be the first day of the rest of his life, the life with the woman he had loved for so long, but only now got to call his own.

" Let's stop by my house , I have something I want to show you." Gil stated while watching the road, stealing glances at her while he was driving. Sara nodded and looked at him

"You're the one who decided to give the staff the day off, so it's your decision where we go. " She smiled and watched the road, wondering what all Gil had planned for the day. When they got to Grissom's apartment, Sara put her jacket down on his couch and walked towards him. She stood in front of him and smiled , " so now that we're here, now what? " Raising her head, she kissed him gently. She liked being here with him, and not just professionally.

" And now, you wait here while I disappear for a few minutes. Don't worry though, I will be back. " He kissed Sara on the forehead and walked off, leaving her to her own devices. If he had anything to do with it, he would make today a day that Sara would never forget. He had bought a gift for her a few years ago, but had never had the guts to give it to her...until now.

While he was away, Sara looked around his loft apartment, his collection of books was massive. She could count on two hands the number of books that he had that she also had. As she had suspected, they all had to do with criminology. She pulled out a book entitled "Criminal Minds" and began reading it. Taking it to the couch with her, she began reading and didn't even notice Gil walking back into the room. It wasn't until he touched her shoulder gently that she realized that he was back.

"Ah, I see you found my books, I have quite the collection, not to sound cocky or anything. " he said smiling down at her, kneeling so they were eye to eye with each bother. "I want you to have this, I had bought it for you a few years ago, but I must admit, I didn't think that you would have wanted it. "

Blushing, Sara smiled and looked into Grissom's eyes " You didn't have to buy me anything Grissom," she would have finished her sentence, but Grissom put his finger on her lips gently and shook his head. " I know I didn't have to buy you anything Sara, but I wanted to. I just hope you'll like it. " He handed her a small wrapped package. It wasn't much, but it held much meaning. " So go on, be the little kid at Christmas time and unwrap it. "

Sara smirked a little and began unwrapping the gift. Within the paper was a small velvet box. She opened it up and her eyes widened, " Gil...how did you know..." she looked at him, then back down to the gift. It was a thin silver chain with a silver and ruby pendant on it. She had been looking at that same necklace online with Catherine when they had some time off. " Did Catherine tell you I wanted this necklace ? " She looked at Gil, tears welling up in her eyes, she had gotten gifts from guys before, but usually all of them bad. This was the best gift she had ever received from anyone. " Gil, thank you so much. This means more to me then anything else in the world." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his, whispering " I love you " to him, her eyes closed and tears streamed down her cheeks.

" Shhhh, it's all right honey, don't cry. And don't worry, Catherine didn't tell me, I saw you looking at the necklace myself, you were just talking to her and didn't notice I was in there. " He cupped her face with his hands and kissed her tears away. The tears reached her mouth, his lips pressed against hers and almost instantly he felt the floodgates open. He wanted to kiss her for so long, and finally here she was, with him, this was real. He wrapped his arms around her waist and continued the kiss. His eyes closed and he broke the kiss slowly. She caressed his cheek and he opened his eyes.

After realizing what just happened, he blushed multiple shades of red. He wasn't embarrassed exactly, just trying to process all of the days events . Day before yesterday he had woken up to the same monotony of every day of his life, he works a 24 hour shift with Sara and it all ends with the unthinkable finally happening, them kissing and admitting the truth that they had kept hidden deep inside for far too long. " I'm glad you like your present dear, I saw how you looked whenever you saw it, and I knew it was the perfect thing to get. The only thing I didn't know at the time was how you would feel getting it from me. Don't worry, I don't have any other surprises for you, I wouldn't want you going into shock on our first day of being together. " Together that word sounded more than right for them. After so long of waiting for the right moment to be with one another, it had finally happened. And he couldn't be happier about it.

" I like that word, together. It seems to fit very well with us." Sara looked at the couch and looked at him " Wanna come sit down by me? You don't look too comfortable kneeling like that, it has to be hell on your knees. " She smiled and watched him get up and move, sitting on the couch beside her. "I actually have a surprise for you as well. It's not as fancy as your gift, but I think you'll like it all the same." She looked in her purse and handed him a 365 day calendar of newly discovered bugs and newly discovered facts about bugs we already know of.

His face brightened up when he saw the calendar, "How did you know I was going to go out and buy it myself? I saw it in the book store last week and decided to wait until I had some more time off to go back and get it." She smiled and looked at him , kissing his forehead. "This is only more evidence that we know each other better than we thought we did. "

Sara nodded and looked at him, "If this is too forward just tell me, but I'm still very tired from the double that we pulled, would you mind if I took a nap? I figured that if you wanted to take a nap, you can take one in your bed and I can borrow the couch. " She yawned a little and started to put the necklace on, but Gil took it out of her hands, placing it around her neck, while also sneaking a quick kiss on the back of her neck. She grinned and looked at him " You're a sneaky one Gil Grissom. "

Gil tried to look innocent, but he knew it wouldn't work. The truth was that he knew exactly what he was doing and loved every second of it. "Well, that could work, but I'm far too comfortable here with you; why don't we just take a nap together here, you can lean up against me and I can rest my head against the back of the couch. " He wrapped an arm around Sara's waist and rested his cheek on the top of her head. Sara knew that it was ridiculous to argue with him , she didn't want to anyway. She scooted back against him and closed her eyes, falling into a deep peaceful sleep in the arms of her love, Gil Grissom.

7 - AUGUST 2006

It was mid August, Gil Grissom and Sara Sidle had been dating for almost a year. They were sitting in Gil's house, eating lunch after pulling yet another double shift. To some, after so many double's they would get tired of it, but the pair ejoyed their work, possibly a little too much. Sara was sitting beside Gil, resting her head upon his shoulder. " I wish I didn't have to go home, but I should. I've been spending all my time with a certain someone. " She chuckled slightly and nudged him.

He nodded and smiled " Ah, but perhaps I like having you around. I haven't had this many nights of good sleep as long as I can remember. I love having you around Sara, it feels good to have someone to wake up to; even if that person snores. " He laughed and kissed the top of her head.

"I wish I could stay here all the time Gil, but I have bills to pay on my apartment, my house phone, and in these past eight months, I haven't seemed to be using them as much as I did before. " She saw Gil's eyes get that certain look they got whenever he had an idea. She shook her head, knowing exactly what he was thinking. " Gil, you've seen my apartment, I'm a slob, you're a neat freak. "

Before she could protest any longer, Gil had kissed her gently. " That's why I want you to move in with me, we can learn from each other, I can learn how to not be so 'anal retentive' with my cleaning and you can learn how to organize." He held her hands and looked into her eyes. " Sara, you spend most nights here, and when you aren't here with me, I can still feel your presence all over the place. I would see a shirt you left, or your perfume would still linger in the air. There have been many nights I would take that shirt that I find and hold it in my hand all night long, and imagine that you were laying beside me. In short Sara I'm asking you to please move in with me. No more worrying about your other bills or anything. " Gil cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs rubbing gently on her cheeks.

" Gil, I don't want to come in and mess up your system you have going on. You've been a perfect gentleman to me all this time, you've seen me when I've had nothing on but an old over-sized t-shirt, are you sure you can or would want to see this every day"

"Darling, I've seen you with nothing on," he chuckled and kissed her forehead, "And as far as you upsetting my system, you won't. Want to know why? It's because you've become a central part of it, and any part of my system that is out of place I get upset about it. That means that I want you to live with me. You and I both know that you belong here, your apartment is too small for the two of us. I never want either of us to spend another night alone. "

Sara rolled her eyes and laughed softly. " You really know how to plead your case Griss. Alright, I will move in with you. Under one condition. "

"Name it and it's yours. " Gill commented, bringing his lips to meet hers.

"Don't steal the covers or the pillows...or else! " Sara said teasingly. She kissed his lips and rested her head on her favorite spot, his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes. "I feel at home here in your arms and in your house. "

"Good," he said softly, "I don't want you to feel like this is any place other than your home. Sara, whenever I was around you, I would instantly feel better. No matter how rough a day had been, or how difficult a case was, all I needed was to see one smile from Sara Sidle and the world was again the way it should be. I'm just sorry it took me so long to admit that to you, much less myself. "

Smiling gently and giving him a good squeeze, Sara whispered, "It's alright Gil, all that matters is that we are together now. I think I can over look the fact that it took us 15 years to get this far. "

8 - Remembering The Past

Gil closed his eyes and his mind went back to the time he met Sara. She was in one of his seminars._ To not make completely obvious that he thought she was attractive, he would glance at the other students during his lecture, but kept his gaze mainly on Sara. " So if you have any further questions, you can see me after the rest of the class is dismissed." A younger Gil Grissom said, adjusting his glasses. He looked around and saw that most of the class was asleep, not minding it too much. He saw that the woman he had spotted at the begining of the class was still awake and looked as if she was going to pop if she didn't ask him her questions. He could care less what kind of questions she asked, he could stare at her for hours. It turned out that the young woman's name was Sara Sidle, she was a 19 year old sophomore who was wise beyond her years and understood things that not even some seasoned professionals would. Her questions were well thought out and some actually stumped him. Thinking of a way to see her again, he told her that he would go back to his hotel, make a few phone calls, do some research and he would have the answers to her questions. That is, if she would have coffee with him._

Sara looked up at Gil who seemed to be day dreaming. " Are you thinking about when we first met again? " She knew that this had become a topic of fascination recently.

Gil would tell her every night before she drifted off to sleep that he wished he had taken her with him back to Las Vegas when he left instead of leaving her alone. It was one of his regrets, but now he had all the time in the world to make it up to her. Sheepishly he looked down at her "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I was young at the time and anyone staying awake through my lectures was a miracle in itself, but to have it be someone to be so..." he searched for the right word before putting on a boyish grin "attractive. You kept me up quite a few nights thinking about you. And not just about the questions you asked either. " He smiled and kissed her forehead as they drifted off for a short nap before having to start another shift.

9 - December 19th, 2007

It was a normal day for Gil Grissom, he woke up, and laying beside him was his beautiful girlfriend Sara Sidle. They had been together for two years today and it had been the most wonderful two years of his life. He was afraid that them working together would make things more difficult for them, but in fact it made it easier. There was never a dull moment while Sara was around, his mother loved her, and so did he. She would always ask him when he would propose to Sara, but he would always brush her off saying that he didn't know when. But he had finally decided on the day...and that day was today.

How he was going to propose to Sara was a mystery to him. He had already picked out the engagement ring, it was simple, a silver band with a ruby stone; very similar to the necklace he gave her when they first were together. He knew that it would mean a lot to her. He arose from the bed very quietly, trying not to disturb his sleeping lover. This attempt however was in vain. The moment he left the bed, Sara rolled over and opened her eyes slowly " You know that never works right? You try and you try and it never works. " Gil shrugged and sat back down in the bed with Sara.

"It never hurts to try again, plus I wanted to serve you breakfast in bed. But now that you're up you can come and help me. " Gil smiled and dodged a pillow being thrown playfully at him by Sara.

"Nope, sorry, I'm still asleep, I just talk in my sleep. " She started snoring loudly on purpose just to see if he would actually go cook breakfast without her. She was proven wrong when Gil grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her to him at the edge of the bed. She started laughing and tried to hold on to the bed " But honey I'm tired...double's aren't fun, especially when you are working a different shift. " She pouted a little and tilted her head to the side, trying to give him the puppy dog eyes, "Please let me stay in bed sweetheart? Atleast for a few more minutes, then I'll get up and help you with breakfast, I promise. " She dove back under the covers before she gave Gil time to answer her question.

Gil got into their bed with her and pinned her down, attempting to tickle her sides. She wiggled around under him and tried to escape by sliding off the other side of the bed but she wasn't able to escape him. " Ok ok ok I'll get up , " she peeked her head out from under the covers, snuck a kiss on his lips, then dove back under, this time sliding out from under the covers at the end of the bed. She quickly ran and went to the kitchen, got out the eggs and started cracking them. Following right behind her was Grissom.

When he caught up to her, he grabbed her around the waist, spun her around and kissed her deeply. After 5 minutes, the kiss ended and he looked down at her " See? I told you you'd help me cook breakfast. I just had to wait for when you would get up. " Fortunately for them, today was the beginning of their Christmas vacation , they got a few weeks off from work. Grissom knew that these next few weeks would be the perfect opportunity for him to propose to her.

He kissed her neck and wrapped his arms around her waist as he whispered into her ear " Happy Anniversary my love. We better eat in a hurry and get dressed, we have a party to get ready for." They were hosting the staff Christmas party tonight and they would exchange gifts. Most of the gifts exchanged were gag gifts, silly little things that no one would ever really need, but there was one gift that Gil knew would be the best gift of all.

She nodded and quickly fixed them two omelets and ate hers rather quickly. After eating, she went to take a shower. Gil grinned to himself and finished his food as well, the day was still young and there was plenty of time for...other activities. Quietly, he slipped into the bathroom where she was taking a shower, the curtain was pale in color so it wouldn't be completely see through. He slipped out of his T-shirt, pajama pants and boxers, joining her in the shower. "I figured I could use a shower too. Plus, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be with you. "

He kissed her shoulders gently as the water streamed down his back and wet his hair. Holding her around the waist, he brought one hand up to caress her cheek, down her neck, shoulders and down her side. She brought her her head up and kissed him firmly on the lips, bringing her own hands around his waist and rested them on his hips. She knew what he wanted because she wanted it too. Slowly backing up against the shower wall she winked at him. He walked up to her, picked her up and let her wrap her legs around his waist. She put her arms up around his neck and kissed him deeply, her tongue tracing his lips as he put one hand around her to hold her up, and another firmly holding her ass, to keep her from slipping down. He kissed down from her lips to her neck as he inserted his cock into her. The initial thrust made Sara shiver and moan. She loved it when Gil made love to her. Every time felt as powerful as the very first time. Gripping his shoulders, she let out a series of moans while Gil made love to her. " Ohhhhhhhh Goodddddddd Gillllllll! " She moaned as she felt herself close to her orgasm.

Hearing Sara moan his name was the sweetest sound Gil had ever heard. The sound only made him thrust harder and quicker. THe harder he thrusted into her, the louder her moans got, and the tighter her pussy got around him. Oh God it was like being in heaven for him. He let out a low moan, looking deep into his lovers brown eyes and mouthing the words "I love you Sara Sidle " before finally succumbing to his own orgasm. He pulled out of her in time to release his load on her stomach. They didn't want to risk having a child, not now. They could handle having pre-marital sex because no one else knew about it but them, but if Sara was to become pregnant then everyone would know, and that would not be good for either of them.

After catching their breaths, Gil indulged Sara in her favorite pleasure of all, washing her hair. They were few things in this world that she would let someone do for her and not feel guilty about it. This just happened to be top of the list. She loved it when Gil would wash her hair, it made her feel all that more loved and taken care of.

After their shower, they got dressed, and went over a few final details about the party. Sara decided to get a little something for all of the guests, not just the secret Santa gift that she had to get. Gil knew that while she would be out getting last minute gifts, it would be the perfect time to start planning her own special secret Santa gift for Sara.

" Hey honey? I'm gonna run out for a few hours, I have to get some last minute gifts alright? I shouldn't be gone too long and I have my cell if anything comes up." Sara said, grabbing her jacket and small purse. She kissed Gil softly on the lips and whispered " I love you " in his ear before heading to the door.

" I love you too honey " he called out before he heard the door shut. Gil waited a few minutes just to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything before he set to work himself. He had a lot to do in a short amount of time. He looked around his and Sara's loft apartment and he smiled, knowing that while he loved having this as his home, it was far too much of a bachelor pad for them, especially after tonight when Sara becomes his fiancé'.

10 - The Call

Picking up the phone, Grissom called the closest thing to a mother that Sara had, Catherine Willows. Sara's own mother was the last person Grissom ever wanted to have contact with, for fear that he might do harm to her. After hearing all of what Sara accounted for that she did to Sara, he held nothing but contempt for that woman.

Catherine had become a mother figure for Sara both at the crime lab and personally. They had a rough patch at the beginning, but grew to be very close. Hearing her phone ring, Catherine answered it, knowing from the caller ID it was Grissom " Hey Griss, what's up? "I need to ask you something Catherine, and it's going to sound very strange, but bear with me. "

"Alright Gil, what is it ? " Catherine had heard him ask strange questions before, so she wasn't phased by them.

" I need to have your permission that I may ask Sara to marry me tonight at the staff party." Gil heard the phone drop from Catherine's hands , then her muttering and cursing under her breath as she picked it back up.

" Why, why do you need my permission, why don't you ask her mother ? " She asked, both very puzzled and very honored to have been asked to give Sara's hand to her good friend.

" Because if I call her mother I might say a few things I would regret saying later on. You are the closest thing to a mother figure she has, and I want to do this properly, so may I ask her to marry me Catherine ? "

"Of course you do Gil, I only have three little words for you though...ABOUT... DAMNED...TIME! " Catherine started laughing and she could hear him laughing as well. " The entire lab was taking bets on how long it would be before you finally popped the question to her. "

Gil smirked and rolled his eyes, that sounded typical of his friends to do. "As long as I have your ok then the rest of the lab can get over it. " He laughed softly and smiled to himself. " Well, if you will excuse me Catherine, I have to go. I have plans that need to be carried out in order to make this party a success, especially the big finale. "

"Alright Gris, and thank you again for asking me, it means a lot to me that you and she think that highly of me. Lindsey and I will be there at 9. Alright, buh bye. " Catherine hung up the phone and grinned from ear to ear. She was in the lab and everyone was sitting around in the conference room and she came in giving a thumbs up. The room exploded into applause and hoops and hollers. They all knew that it was about time for Gil to finally propose to Sara. Even Eckli was excited about the event.

Everyone had their own opinion as to how exactly Gil would propose to her. In the grand tradition of their friendship, Nick and Warrick were betting against each other on how many roses Gil would give her; Nick said 2 for the 2 years they had been together and Warrick said 12. The only thing for sure that everyone knew was that it would be very romantic and it would be done at the party.

Out shopping, Sara found little odd's and ends that had a quirk about them that fit the person she bought it for. She also went and bought a very special gift for Gil, something to show how much she loved him and appriciated him being so good to her. She was tempted to do something very against the grain and ask him to marry her, but she had shyed away from the idea, atleast tonight. All of their friends would be there and she knew they would tease him about it. She could hear it now and it made her chuckle; maybe he deserved it...they had been together for a while now and he still hadn't given her any clues as to when or if he would propose to her. She loved Gil Grissom with all of her heart but sometimes he could be very slow.

On her way home she day dreamed a little, thinking of how and when he would propose to her. She wasn't a very girly girl, but she did want the one thing that most girly girl's wanted...a wonderful white fairy tale wedding to her prince charming. Granted, her prince charming was more interested in bugs than the average man; but that's why she loved him. He was his own person.

11 - Pre-Party Planning

Back at the house Gil had everything in place, the decorations were up, stockings with everyone's names on them were up on the make-shift fireplace , a candy cane sticking out of each of them. It was 6 PM , the party was in three hours and Sara was just getting home from the stores. She came up and kissed him on the cheek " Sorry I was late, the lines in the mall were completely bogus. It's not even christmas eve and you've got people fighting over stuff already. I swear, this is the one reason I don't like the christmas season, all these damned people crowded into one little space." She laughed softly and set down her bags. The gifts had already been wrapped, thanks to the nice cashier and a quick 20 dollar bill she gave him extra for the trouble. Sara placed the gifts under the tree and put a bag of M&M's in each of the stockings. "Dear Lord," she thought "these people are going to be leaving the house with a sugar buzz...that won't be pretty." She imagined Greg on a sugar high and shuddered, he was bad enough normally without much help.

Sitting in Gil's lap she looked at him " Have fun while I was away? You'll be happy, I got all the shopping done, stood in very long lines for a unGodly amount of time without killing or cursing anyone. " She knew that she had to get her temper under control sometime, and Christmas time seemed to just bring the temper out more often.

" I am very proud of you sweetheart, but we only have three hours and you've gotta get changed while I prepare some of the food, then I have to change while you work your magic and perfect everything. I know how picky you get. " Gil grinned as he said that, knowing good and well that he was picky too. He dodged yet another hit by a couch pillow and went to the kitchen to start the preporations.

Sara went to the bedroom and found her red halter top dress that she had kept hidden from Gill since July. She saw it in passing through the mall and went back later to pick it up. She knew it would shock him because she never wore a dress, especially not one like this. Putting her hair up in a messy bun, she looked at herself in the mirror. The image reflected was a tall brunette in a red halter top dress that flaired out slightly at the waist and had a deep V neck cut in the top. Around her neck she put on the only piece of jewelry she wore at all times; the silver chain with the ruby and silver pendant that Gil had given her the first time they were together. She brought her hand up and touched the ruby part. It still held the same warmth it did as the first time she put it on. A knock at the door interupted her thoughts. "Yes?" " Are you almost finished changing ? I need to check on a few things before I start changing, I was just going to see how long it was going to be. "  
She smiled and looked at herself one more time in the mirror, the person she saw was unfamiliar to her, but yet very attractive. She only hoped that Gil thought so as well. "Alright Gil, I'm on my way out right now. " She opened the door and looked at him, his eyes wide as saucers and his jaw dropped down. "I take it that you like the dress I got. I wasn't sure if it was ok or..." before she got a chance to finish her sentance, Gil had come into the room, put his hands around her waist and dipped her down in a romantic fashion and kissed her.

When they stopped kissing she looked at him " Well ? " She did a little twirl for him. " Don't get too used to this, I don't wear dresses that often."

He nodded and tried to regain some sort of composure. " It's just...I mean... all I can say is damn...don't worry, it's a good thing...I've never seen you in a dress, and I almost wish I hadn't now...because if you don't go and let me change, I might take you to the bed and make love to you right now, and to hell with the party. " She giggled and walked out of the room slowly, letting the door shut behind her.

Leaning her ear against the door, she heard him get undressed, lay down on their bed and slowly jerk himself off. She heard him moaning out her name and refrained from going in there with him. She had just gotten this dress and wasn't about to get stuff on it, no matter how much she might have wanted to. There would be plenty of time for that after the party was over. " Darling , don't be long, the party starts in a few hours. " She grinned and walked off to the kitchen to finish getting all the plates and things out that she normally wouldn't fuss over, but this was their first party together and she wanted to make it special for him.

12 - Welcome To The Party

An hour later, the first person to knock on the door was Dr. Al, " Sara you look lovely this evening, I brought some champagne for the party, I figured that some bubbly would be welcomed at the party. " He chuckled as he walked in as Sara took the champagne and set it down in some ice.

" Gil, Dr. Al is here. " Sara knocked on their bedroom door, then turned around to walk back to the living room where Dr. Al was, but she heard the door open and she turned around to see Gil Grissom standing there in a tuxedo, clean-shaven, and in his glasses. It was her turn for her jaw to drop.

" It's not polite to stare." Grissom smirked, placing a finger under her chin and closes her mouth. " Now you know how I felt whenever I saw you for the first time in the dress you're wearing. " He put his arm around Sara's waist, they went out to the living room to greet Dr. Al.

" Well well, Gil Grissom you do clean up nicely. And you have a nice apartment."

"Thanks Al, " before he could say anymore, there was another knock at the door. " If you could excuse me one moment. " Gil said, walking towards the door and opening it. There stood Catherine, Lindsey, Nick, Greg, Warrick,his wife Tina, and Eckli. " Did you all steal the CSI SUV for this carpool ? " He laughed a little and shrugged "Come on in, Al beat you all here. "

They all sat around and talked, and ate the food that Gil and Sara had prepared. After a few hours, Sara stood up and stood near the Christmas Tree. "Alright everyone, you know why you're here...now that that's outta the way, exchange your gifts already. Let's see who gets the worst gag gift this year, I will not be out done with my all pink field kid that I gave to Nick last year. Pink is so your color. " She smirked and started handing out the gifts. In the grand tradition of gag gifts, the rookie got the worst gift of all. Warrick had drawn Greg's name and knew exactly what to get him; laxatives and a sponge bob toilet seat. To complete the set, Warrick also got him a package of Depends underwear.

Whenever Greg opened his gift, everyone did a collective " Holy crap! " and all started cracking up. Even Eckli got a kick out of it. Once all the silly gifts were out of the way, Sara went and found Gil's present wrapped in a small little box. "All right, everyone stand back, I believe I have the best present right here. Nothing, and I mean nothing, " she threw a glance at Grissom, " can top this. "

He sat and pursed his lips together, he highly doubted that any gift Sara cooked up could top his. He figured that he would amuse her by letting her think she could top him. She placed the gift in his hands and sat beside him, anxiously awaiting his every move.

"Come on," she joked, kissing his shoulder as she saw him open the gift as slow as he possibly could, "are you waiting for the snow to fall? Because dear, we're in Vegas, and it never snows."

He looked over at her, "I like to take my time with gifts from the heart, they're fragile...and I like seeing you squirm." He grinned and continued unwrapping until he got down to the box. Opening it up, he saw two very rare mint condition baseball cards. He stared at her, his mouth open with an astonished look on his face.

"How did you...

13 - Grissom's Gift

Sara shrugged and looked back at him, "Remember dear, it's not polite to stare..." She grinned and winked. "Say thank you to the lovely people at E-bay. I spent some of my free time searching around, bidding, and finally winning. Oh, and don't worry...there's more." She smiled, nodding her head back down toward the box.

"I dont think I can handle any more, but there is no turning back now, is there? " He quirked a smile and dug around in the box, finding two plane tickets to New York City, a hotel reservation and to top it all off, two tickets to a New York Yankee's game. Grissom was speachless, he stood up, took Sara in his arms and spun her around, finally setting her down. "I take it I did good?" Sara grinned and looked up at Grissom. It had taken a while for her to get everything together, but she had patience.

"Oh yeah..." he smiled and looked down at Sara, "you did good. How did you know I loved baseball so much?" Sara simply rolled her eyes. He remembered when he mentioned it, but was shocked that she remembered. "And now Miss Sara Sidle the all knowing, it's your turn." Gil handed Sara an envelope.

14 - Sara's Riddle

Puzzled, Sara opened the envelope only to find a small slip of paper. She looked up, expecting to find Grissom, but he had slipped out of the room. "Hey Gris, is this one of your famous riddles?" She looked around, then shrugged, reading the paper out loud. "Open and ye shall find, a world full of knowledge." Her brow furrowed as she began thinking. She stood up to look around and looked at Catherine, "Do you have any idea how many places there are to search for knowledge in this place? The bookcase alone must have..." her sentence trailed off when she had an idea.

Reaching the bookcase, she pulled out Criminal Minds, the book she read whenever Grissom had given her her necklace. Opening it up, she found yet another envelope. She sighed a little and smiled. Of course Griss couldn't give her her present the easy way, he had to make her search for the answers. Turning to the rest of the gang she shrugged, wondering if they had any part in this scheme. "Please tell me one of you knows what's going on." They all shook their heads.

"Home, home on the range, where the roaches race and play all day. " Letting out a small laugh, Sara read the clue out-loud. This was definately a Grissom move. She went to what she referred to as the "bug room" and went to a make shift roach race track.

"Dear God I hope this is the last one." Sara grinned as she picked up the envelope. Every envelope's had sent her somewhere she had spent time after she and Grissom had gotten together. After 14 envelopes had sent her all around the apartment then down to Grissom's jeep. "We're goin on a joy ride, all those who want to join, hop in...space is limited so you might have to sit on someone's lap." Sara said, looking back at everyone. With his keys in her hand, she piled everyone in the SUV and took a little road trip to the first crime scene she seejn him at when she arrived in Las Vegas.

Getting out of the drivers seat, she saw a trail of roses leading to an unknown destination. Picking up the roses as she walked, she counted 13. 'One for every envelope?' she wondered. Smelling the roses she smiled, holding them all in her hands. One rose was left, there were only 13 roses, but 14 envelopes. She saw the last rose sitting near a pillar and picked it up.

15 - Riddle Solved

As she picked it up, Grissom walked out from behind another pillar, his hands behind his back. "I see you've followed the clues I left." He smiled softly and looked at her. "Have you figured out the significance of the number of clues I left you?"

Sara bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah, I think I do, but there are only 14 roses, we met 15 years..." her sentence was cut short when the last rose was revealed. "ago." She smiled and looked into his eyes. "Grissom, I have to say you've out-done my present by reminding me of all the things we've done together. I do not believe anything else could top this."

He quirked a brow, shrugged and nodded "Alright, but then you will always be left with the nagging question of what your gift was."

She walked towards him. "That's not entirely true, I do want to know what my gift is, but the memories we've shared together these last 15 years are a wonderful gift for anyone to recieve."

He smiled and got down on one knee. "I was hoping you would say something like that. Sara Renee' Sidle, from the first day I met you, you've been on my mind. The day you showed up in Vegas at this exact spot, I didn't need to turn around to know that you were behind me, the hair on the back of my neck prickled and I felt at peace, even at a crime scene. That's how I knew you were there. Then I turned around and everything rushed back to me, I didn't know how to handle it. When you were at college, it was easier, we weren't working together, it was just us two civilians touring the city. When you started working with me, I couldn't allow my feelings to come forward, I put my work ahead of my heart. I wanted to tell you how I felt, God knows how many times I started to call your cell to ask you for dinner, but I choked up. When you asked me, I stupidly answered no. I kicked myself every day for that, until that night you stole a blanket from Eckli's office." He looked up into her eyes, then past her to Eckli. "Sorry, should have told you, didn't seem relivent at the time, you understand." He shot Eckli a boyish grin, closed his eyes then looked back up into Sara's eyes. "I've never met anyone like you, ever. And I've almost lost you more times then I would like to count. I don't want to take that risk anymore. I made a call several days ago to Catherine and asked her a very important question. I asked her if she would allow me to ask you yet another very important question. Sara , will you please marry me."

By the time he had gotten those six words out of his mouth, Sara was on the verge of tears. Nodding she held out her left hand towards Gil. " Yes Gil Grissom, I will marry you," she said, her hand trembling as he put the ring on her finger. Her eyes widened when she realized what the ring looked like. "Gil, it looks exactly like the necklace that you gave me when we first went out." She touched the necklace around her neck and she began crying.

"Sara please don't cry." Gil stood up and held her tightly in his arms.

"Don't worry Grissom, I'm not sad if that's what you're thinking. I love you and I couldn't think of a better gift to recieve from you. It's just everything, all at once..." She said looking around at all of their friends.

"You know, I had a dream like this once...only everyone was naked, it was kinda strange." Everyone burst out laughing and walked over to the newly engaged couple. "Alright... which one of you knew about this... " Sara called out trying not to laugh.

Catherine raised her hand. She walked over to Sara and Gil, putting an arm around both of them. " I know because Gil called me and asked me if it was alright to ask you. He knew how close we were and he wanted to do things the right way and ask for your hand in marriage. I have to tell you Sara, I have never seen Gil Grissom this happy, much less anyone else." Catherine said, looking around to everyone around them, then kissing both of them on the forehead then going back to stand with everyone else.

16 - Back At The House

When they got back to the house, Sara and Gil got a glass of champagne for everyone to celebrate. Ecklie raised his glass in the air, " To Gil and Sara, long may they be happy, healthy and successful, because if they're not then Las Vegas will have two less CSI's helping them!" He tried to look stern when stating the last part but everyone could see that he was just joking. " To Gil and Sara " everyone said, raising their own glasses.

Soon the newly engaged couple were pulled apart, Dr. Al, Ecklie, Nick, Warrick, and Greg taking Gil aside and Catherine, Lindsey and Tina taking Sara. They both had the same thing on their minds...wedding plans, more specificly, the night before the wedding. Both Sara and Gil had decided that no strippers would be allowed. Sara wanted to have just a girl's night out, see a movie, get sexy lingerie and a spa treatment for the wedding day for the entire bridal party. Gil wanted to have a simple quiet evening at home...but with the men that would stand with him on his wedding day, he knew that it wasn't possible. "Alright, I will agree to going to A bar, no more than one, and no other women. We can stay here and play poker or go to the casino's and play. I just don't want to be hung over on my wedding day. " He smiled thoughtfully to himself...one day, in the next few months, he would have the woman of his dreams as his bride.

Sara's head was spinning, she kept looking down at her hand and the engagement ring and over to the man who would marry her. " Catherine, how did you know that Gil and I wanted to be together so badly?' She looked over at her friend as Catherine shrugged and winked, walking back over to sit beside Lindsey. Sara had never told anyone how she felt about Grissom, but she guessed that her body language spoke for her.

Standing up , Grissom made his way back to Sara " My dear, I believe that we are surrounded by both our friends and completely insane people. As much as I love them all, they're making all these plans for us and I'm feeling smothered. What do you think sweet heart? ' He put his arms around Sara's waist and kissed her cheek. She nodded and gasped, an idea forming in her head.

" What if we eloped? I mean it would be nice to have all of our friends at the big day, but what if we slipped away for a dream wedding of our own. " She grinned and looked at him, she knew he would never go for the idea; he would want his mom at least at the wedding if no one else.

" Darling Sara if it were only that easy... we can't elope, if we did that then all of these people who came here tonight to celebrate Christmas and finally our engagement would not get to see the entire process follow through. " He hated using terms like ' entire process, and follow through' but it had become a part of his vocabulary and wasn't going to be errased. " Plus honey, you know how much it would mean to me for my mother to see me, after 50 years, get married."

He grinned and looked at her, his nose against hers "plus," he said in a whispered tone "If you look as amazing as you do tonight in a wedding dress,  
I'm not sure if I will be able to hold back like I was able to tonight...after all, that's what the...honeymoon...is for " he said softly, kissing her forehead. The tone in his voice made it clear what he wanted. He always wanted to be with her, and share a proper wedding night together.

Sara's eyes lit up whenever he mentioned the white wedding dress and the wedding night parts. She had always wanted to wear atleast one white dress in her lifetime. Nodding, she rested her hands ontop of Grissom's " Honey, whatever you want to do, we'll do. As long as I am married to you then that is all that matters to me. "

Grissom raised his eyebrow " Anything? Dear, I'm not really sure you know what you're saying. " He grinned and pulled her close to him, he kissed her neck gently nibbling on it. She started to try to wiggle away from him and back to the guests that were there for their party, but decided against it. "Honey, if you don't stop our guests will think we're ignoring them." Sara, whispered into his ear. Looking into his eyes, she smiled a little, thinking to herself ' Mrs. Sara Renee' Grissom'.

17 - Last Call

It was 3 AM and the last party goer had finally left, they almost had to push Greg out the door. After they cleaned up, Sara pulled on some pj pants and a tank top. Walking into the kitchen, she put her hair into a loose pony tail and looked down at her ring again, it had to have been the 50th time she done that. "Am I the only one still pinching herself to make sure all of this is real?" Looking at Grissom she smiled a little putting her hands in his.

"Don't worry, you aren't going to wake up tomorrow back at your old apartment all alone. You're going to wake up in my arms and yes, still the future Mrs. Sara Grissom. " He grinned and looked down at her. "I've always wanted to say that out loud to you. I've said it a few times in my head, but I would never had dared to mention it around you"

"I wouldn't have cared. Do you know how many days I almost signed my name as Sara Grissom on my reports." Sara said, grinning looking up at him. " Ok, so it wasn't that many times, but I did find myself writing it on several notebooks in the apartment"

"Well, in a few months you will be able to write it on anything you want to. But I think that you would still have to sign Sara Sidle on papers for a house." Gil saw Sara's eyes widen.

"You...got...us...a...HOUSE! " Sara squealed , jumping into his arms. "When, where, why, how!" She got down and was walking around in circles.

"Aren't those questions we usually ask ourselves when we're trying to solve a case? But I think I will answer them for you. When and where: A few days ago I met with a real-estate agent who showed me a charming little house, three bedrooms, out of the city but still close enough to commute, and a nice backyard. Perfect room for my roach race speedway." He flashed her the boyish smile that usually got him out of trouble.

"Why is fairly simple, I figured you would have thought of that one, but I will cut you some slack, you've had a lot of excitement for the evening. I put in the offer and eventually got the house because this small apartment is big enough for the bugs and I , but not big enough for the most important woman in my life, plus all my stuff and your's as well. The best idea I had was to get a place big enough for all of that, and maybe one day even more. " He got a small smile on his face.

"As for your last question of how, that also is fairly simple. With our combined salaries we can pay for it and anything else we need." Gil picked Sara up in his arms and walked towards their bed room, laying her down on the bed . Sitting beside her, he ran his fingers through her hair. "We don't have to pack right away, I figure we can wait until in the morning..." He would have continued talking, but he saw that she had fallen asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Who wouldn't have after a late night and all this excitement. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently, "Goodnight sweet Sara."

Slipping under the covers, he held her as he also fell asleep beside her, the last thoughts on his mind were of his beautiful fiance' and the life they will share with one another.


End file.
